Coalition eyes home for needy

NEW MILFORD - On the corner of Railroad Street is a red building with an open floor plan and upstairs apartment space some advocates for the homeless think is ideal for a permanent shelter.

It's within walking distance to the downtown, but not on the Village Green. It is in an area with businesses and apartments, so it would not be obtrusive to residential families, they contend.

And they think the sale price is reasonable: $229,000.

"If it could work out for them, there are a lot of things going for it (as a shelter)," said
Elaine Barksdale
of Barksdale Realty, which has the listing for the 1,900 square foot property next to H.H. Taylor Hardware store near the corner of Railroad and Bennitt streets.

Yet as much as the all-volunteer coalition might wish to have this location as a six- to eight-bed shelter, there are several hurdles to jump before that could happen, including community acceptance of a shelter, and finding money to buy and operate it.

The coalition would also have to seek a zoning change to allow a shelter operation in what is now a business/multi-family residential zone.

At this time, the non-profit coalition has a bank account of about $40,000 - not enough to buy a place and pay the mortgage, they said. It would like to use that as seed money or a down payment and sponsor fundraisers and seek grants for additional funds.

Whether the coalition can get enough commitments of money to pursue this property before it is sold to someone else is a big question.

Barksdale said she has a couple of potential buyers for the building, which is zoned for a second-floor apartment and up to two retail or commercial businesses.

Owner
Mitchell Borenstein
, who bought the 1900s building in 2001 for $144,000, is eager to sell, Barksdale said.

Then there is the issue of public acceptance, the men said. Every time the coalition has found a potential location, there have been objections from those who live nearby.

"Anywhere you put it, unless it's on the dark side of the moon, there is going to be resistance,'' Farquharson said.

A year ago, the coalition was eyeing the former
American Legion
building on Fort Hill Road, but it required renovations the coalition could not afford to tackle. That property, with an asking price of about $300,000, has since been sold.

Both Wargo and Farquharson said that what is so attractive about the Railroad Street space - and is needed in any other space they might find - is its being close to other local services and transportation.

The Railroad Street building would have room for caretakers on the premises, space for the homeless to keep their possessions and where those who do not have jobs could spend time in during the day instead of going to local stores or the library.

Farquharson said a permanent shelter space, too, could become a clearinghouse to help the homeless access other social services and employment information.

Even if the coalition decided it could not afford to buy this particular building, Farquharson said, perhaps an arrangement could be made for a long-term lease or rental.

"It's doable,'' Farquharson said.

For the past four winters, the coalition has provided a shelter that rotated its location among five local churches. Members expect that will be the case again this winter, Farquharson said, although that is not the most practical, or most humane, answer.

"It's OK to say that people need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, but it's hard to buckle those bootstraps if you're sitting on a curb,'' he concluded. "If we can get these folks in a shelter and off the streets, that's better for everybody.''